“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams” – Oprah Winfrey
This beautiful line pretty much encapsulates the infinite emotions and thoughts that I am living with at this present moment. Life has for the better, taken a new trajectory after the 2nd of May - when the results of the long selection process of VGSoM, IIT Kharagpur saw the light of the day and lit up my eyes.
However, the road to this prestigious school of my dreams has been 3 years in the making. Flashback to 2014 - A group of friends sits for a usual evening tea at the canteen, back from another day of seemingly mundane lectures. The brain already has had its dose of semesters and submissions to be jam packed with but it’s the heart that’s not content. It wants a new reason to be excited about – something that can give wings to an aspiring business leader, letting one put a ‘Dent in the universe’ as Steve Jobs once said, that hardly a regular campus placement job can do. Thus was born the dream to bell the CAT to make it to a premier b-school and win a coveted badge that could lend much credibility to a person holding it. And like only a select few can live their dreams, 3 years later, post two unsuccessful attempts, today I am as proud as one can be to walk into the dream that the Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur is. Its battle tested alumni, commendable industry interaction, and its rich legacy nestled in the iconic IIT system speak volumes about this institute. One can only beam with pride the moment one looks at the buildings that epitomize a nation’s quest to rise above its colonial past to become a global hub for ideas and innovation.
Well abstracts apart, this journey of mine hasn't been entirely romantic. The gruelling selection process comprising a meticulous CAT cum profile based shortlisting, and a thorough PI –WAT stage ensured that I was not just focused on scoring well in the CAT but was equally well prepared on umpteen other topics. The day of the interview was nerve-racking with candidates from across the nation jostling for an entry into VGSoM, raising up the level of competition to menacing heights. Carrying an adequate dose of confidence yet a racing heart, I walked into the interview room to be quizzed on a plethora of topics like business, statistics, computer science, and my work experience. Despite how grilling it was, today when I hark back to the interview, it gives me a sense of immense pride and satisfaction at having given it such a fair shot.
But wait, this is where all of this self-satisfying contemplation ceases to exist. The few days that I have spent on the campus have already given me a flash of all the topsy-turvy rides that I am about to take in the next 2 years. The ultra tight academic and student committee regimen will spur on me to be on top of my game every single day. The cliché ‘Sustaining in an MBA program is way tougher than making it to one’ seems rather prophetic now. Thus, this two-year stay at VGSoM, IIT Kharagpur looks to be one about cashing in on opportunities, tackling challenges, and driving positive transformations within myself. Indeed the expedition has begun and my ‘Biggest Adventure’ is here.